As we have been saying for years, we know what the conditions can be like when you’re a low wage worker working for temp agencies: unsafe working conditions, finger pointing when there are accidents, too many people in van transportation, Unpaid hours or days when your name is somehow not on the roster even though you’re there, sex discrimination and more. Above all it’s a lack of respect.

We’ve documented it in written report form as part of NELP’s report, “Temped Out”.

But it’s not enough to just point out that there are problems. We need to actively change these conditions of a cheating system, where multinational corporations will contract out third party logistic intermediaries, which hire out other entities and warehouse, which hire out agencies, which ultimately hire workers. Each one taking a piece along the way, leaving little at the bottom for workers, and sometimes theft of wages.

But there is now recognition that “responsibility” is not just limited to “employer”.
OSHA’s has a temp worker initiative, and when it comes to worker health and safety, both the agency and client firm are both responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace.

And the NLRB also recently expanded it scope if what it means to be a “joint employer”. That could have implications for staffing agencies.

So we will be fighting to fix it and make it work for workers. If it’s not fixed there will be consequences….